John Berry

I have the Patagonia deep wading jacket and I really like it. I have one suggestion. Get a really big one. It should be big enough to fit over your fully loaded vest and pile jacket or down vest.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 11/22/2007 With the exception of Beaver Lake, the lake levels on the White River system have remained constant. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam is at five and six tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake is at four and two tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at six and one tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for very little generation with long periods of no generation. This has created some difficult water to boat on. On the other hand there have been some excellent wading opportunities on the White River. Norfork Lake has remained steady at five and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for several short pulses of low level generation daily. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have a lot of low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have remained low. The dissolved oxygen level was around two tenths parts per million. The state standard is six parts per million. On the White River, the dissolved oxygen has also declined. It has averaged one part per million and dropped below eight tenths parts per million. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Once the water has traveled a bit down stream and runs over rocks and riffles, it picks up oxygen. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. The low water on the White river has made for some truly excellent fly fishing. The water is the lowest it has been all year and this has allowed anglers to wade fish in spots that have not been available to them for months. As a result, everyone is spread out and individual spots are not over crowded. Great fishing has been reported up and down the river. Wildcat Shoals has been a hot spot. In the riffles, nymphing with black zebra midges with silver wire and silver beads and brown with copper wire and copper beads has been excellent. Below the riffles the most effective flies have been soft hackles. The most productive flies have been partridge and orange, green butts and hares ear soft hackles. The best sizes have been fourteens and sixteens. Further down stream just above Round House Shoals in Cotter there have been some spectacular blue wing olive hatches. These mayflies are very small, around size twenty. With flies this small you will have a lot of trouble seeing the fly unless you are fishing pretty close. A good match for this hatch would be a parachute Adams in the proper size, if you do not have a good blue wing olive pattern with you. You may find small soft hackles like the hares ear soft hackle in size eighteen to be effective and easier to fish than dry flies during this hatch. Rim Shoals has been another hot spot. The Jenkin’s creek area has fished particular well. The go to fly has been the black zebra midge in size eighteen. Down along the island, the fishing has been good on a variety of flies. In the riffles here, the hot flies have been zebra midges, olive scuds and sow bugs all in size eighteen. Partridge and orange soft hackles have also been effective. Below the first island, the go to fly was the tan egg with a red spot. The Norfork River is much less crowded, with the excellent wading conditions on the White River drawing a lot of waders there. You should avoid the upper river just below Norfork Dam due to the low dissolved Oxygen there. The Handicap access has yielded some nice fish but angling has been slow overall. The most productive flies have been the olive Norfork bead head, small olive scuds, and worm brown San Juan worms. Dry Run Creek has fished extremely well. The dissolved oxygen content on the creek is much higher than the upper Norfork River and a lot of good fish have sought sanctuary there. In addition Brown trout have gone up the creek to spawn. The best flies to fish there are sowbugs size sixteen, egg patterns, and large San Juan worms. Take your camera. This is where memories are made. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

My wife, Lori, has been wearing the L2s for over a year and is quite happy with them.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 11/15/2007 Overall the lake levels continue to fall. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has fallen six tenths of a foot to rest at five and six tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has remained steady at four and two tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at five and nine tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation around the clock or no generation. There have been several very windy days that included lake wind advisories which resulted in some difficult drift fishing. There have been some excellent wading opportunities on the White River. Norfork Lake has remained steady at five and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for several pulses of low level generation daily. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have dropped lower. The dissolved oxygen level was around two tenths parts per million and dropped below this zero on two occasions. The state standard is six parts per million. On the White River, the dissolved oxygen has also declined. It has averaged one and two tenths parts per million and dropped below eight tenths parts per million. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Once the water has traveled a bit down stream and runs over rocks and riffles, it picks up oxygen. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. With the Catch and Release section at Bull Shoals Dam closed for the brown trout spawn, the action has moved down stream. There are fewer campers at Bull Shoals State Park and that has reduced the crowding in that area. The section from the State Park to White Hole access has fished very well. This section has fished particularly well on no generation. The most productive flies have been black zebra midges with silver wire and silver beads and brown with copper wire and copper beads. Soft hackles like the partridge and orange and the green butt have also produced fish. Olive woolly buggers were also accounting for good fish in deeper water. Further down stream, the Wildcat Shoals section fished well. In addition to the zebra midges, Y2Ks and egg patterns have been effective as well as size twenty olive scuds. Soft hackles and olive woolly buggers have also done well particularly well in the lower end of the shoals. At higher flows, the best flies have been zebra midges in size fourteen and San Juan worms in hot fluorescent pink. The section from Cotter to Buffalo Shoals has been a mixed bag. Some days have been good and some slow. The fishing has been a bit better at no generation. The most productive flies have been zebra midges, Y2Ks, San Juan worms, and olive scuds. There have been fairly reliable blue wing olive hatches in the late afternoon and size eighteen pheasant tail nymphs have been productive before the hatch and size twenty parachute Adams have worked during the hatch, if you can see them. Since this hatch has occurred late during low light they have been hard to fish. The Norfork has been fishing poorly. The crowds of early fall have thinned down a lot, particularly during the week, but the heavy pressure from earlier has put the fish down. The river is still grudgingly yielding a few fish. The best flies have been zebra midges, Norfork bead heads, pheasant tail nymphs and Y2Ks. There have been good hatches of blue wing olives and crane flies. The best fly for the crane fly hatch has been the size fourteen sulphur parachute. Dry Run Creek has been red hot. The highly oxygenated water has provided a perfect environment for the large trout that reside there. There are a lot of big browns that have moved up there to spawn. The most productive flies have been size fourteen sow bugs, Y2Ks, olive woolly buggers, and San Juan worms. Be sure and use heavy tippets (4X) and check your knots carefully to give the kids a good chance to land a big one. Most fish are lost at the net. A big net is a definite asset. Try to land the fish quickly and lovingly release them. Be very gentle when handling the fish and always wet your hands before doing so. Practice water safety and always check conditions before leaving home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

Greg, It is a nice time to come down. The leaves are at prime, the weather is near perfect, and the fish are cooperating.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 11/08/2007 Overall the lake levels fallen slightly. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at five feet below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen four tenths of a foot to four and two tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at five and seven tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation around the clock or no generation. There have been several very windy days that included lake wind advisories which resulted in some difficult drift fishing. There have been some excellent wading opportunities on the White River. Norfork Lake has risen one tenth of a foot to rest at five and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for very limited generation. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have dropped lower. The dissolved oxygen level was around two tenths parts per million and dropped well below this level on several occasions. The state standard is six parts per million. On the White River, the dissolved oxygen has also declined. It has averaged one and six tenths parts per million and dropped below one and four tenths parts per million. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. With the Catch and Release Section at Bull Shoals Dam closed until February, 1, the action has moved down stream. The Wild Cat Shoals area has been fishing very well. On higher water the hot flies have been black zebra midges with silver wire and silver beads, brown zebra midges with copper wire and copper beads, Y2Ks and hot fluorescent pink San Juan worms. On lower flows soft hackles like the partridge and orange and green butt have been effective. The section from Rim Shoals to Buffalo Shoals has been hot. There have been nice blue wing olive and caddis hatches late in the afternoon. At higher flows, the best flies have been the black and brown zebra midges in size fourteen, olive scuds, Y2Ks, and San Juan Worms. Grass hopper patterns are still producing fish as are Chernobyl ants. The Jenkin’s Creek area has fished well with olive woolly buggers. If you need to access wadable water during generation, stop by Rim Shoals Trout Dock to arrange for a water taxi for a nominal charge. The section from the confluence to Reds landing has been the hot spot. The fish are stacked up in there and several anglers have reported spectacular days. This section does not generally get as much pressure as the upper river but fishes well on two generators. Here again the best flies have been zebra midges, olive scuds and San Juan worms. The Norfork has not been as crowded lately. The sometimes lower water on the White has helped to prevent overcrowding here. The fishing has been a bit slow. There have been some blue wing olive hatches. The generation has been a bit erratic but has been limited to low flows. The most productive flies have been olive Norfork bead heads, Y2Ks, zebra midges, and olive scuds. There have been some nice midge hatches that the trout have been keying on. The best fly for this has been Dan’s turkey tail emerger in size twenty two. To fish some thing this small you will have to go down to at least 6X tippet. In order to thread the eye of this small a hook, clip your tippet at a forty-five degree angle to form a point on the tag end. Dry Run Creek has been red hot. There are loads of fish stacked up in it to take advantage of the high oxygen content in the creek. The most effective fly for here is a gray sow bug in size fourteen. Use at least 5X tippet and be sure and test your knots. The trout are huge here! My young clients have also done well on olive woolly buggers fished under an indicator. Carry the biggest net you can lay your hands on. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas. He has fished the local waters for over twenty five years.

For the last two days my wife, Lori, and I guided a corporate group for River Ridge Inn (a great place to stay on the Norfork). Lori guided both days on the Norfork and did quite well. I floated the White on Monday and waded the Norfork on Tuesday. On the White, we caught plenty of fish including several nice browns. The hot fly was the black zebra midge size eighteen. The hot spot was Jenkin's Creek at the upper end of the Rim Shoals area. On the Norfork, Lori and I were pleasantly surprised to find that the crowds from earlier in the month were gone. In fact, we and our clients were the only ones in the Catch and Release area for most of the day. Our clients caught some very nice trout including a nineteen inch brown. We did the best on falling water. The hot flies were olive zebra midges and Y2Ks.

Come on down. The fishing has really improved in the last week.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 11/01/2007 Overall the lake levels fallen slightly. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has fallen eight tenths of a foot to rest at four and eight tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to three and eight tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen one tenth of a foot to rest at five and five tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation around the clock or no generation. There have been several very windy days that included lake wind advisories which resulted in some difficult drift fishing. There have been some excellent wading opportunities on the White River. Norfork Lake has fallen one tenth of a foot to rest at five and five tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for a substantial period of generation in the morning. This has created some excellent wading conditions in the afternoon. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have dropped lower. The dissolved oxygen level was around two tenths parts per million. On the White River the dissolved oxygen has also declined. It has averaged one and six tenths parts per million. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. On the White River the Bull Shoals Catch-and-Release Area from 100 yards below Bull Shoals Dam to the upstream boundary of Bull Shoals White River State Park is Catch-and-release from February 1 until October 31 is closed to fishing from November 1 to January 31 downstream to the wing dike at the Bull Shoals White River State Park Trout Dock. In addition the Bull Shoals Seasonal Brown Trout Catch-and-Release Area: From the wing dike at the Bull Shoals White River State Park trout dock to the downstream boundary of the park is designated a Catch-and-release area for brown trout from November 1 through January 31. Brown trout must be released immediately. No fishing from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise. The brown trout are spawning in this area and the regulations are designed to protect them. The fishing on the White River has definitely improved in the last week. The weather has cooled off and the trout are feeding. On the upper river, egg patterns in the Bull Shoals Dam State Park and below should be effective. Wildcat Shoals has been very productive with worm brown San Juan worms and Y2Ks. Soft hackles such as partridge and orange and green butts have been fishing well particularly after the fog burns off in the morning. This section has also fished well with grass hoppers. Add a small nymph such as a zebra midge or a pheasant tail and hang on. Rim Shoals has also fished very well. On lower flows the Y2K and traditional egg patterns have accounted for a lot of fish. On higher flows the San Juan worm in hot pink has been effective. Grasshoppers have done well but do not use a dropper in this section as Catch and Release regulations only allow a single hook. The Ranchette section has been really hot. Here it is nymphs lit the zebra midge in brown with copper wire and copper bead and in black with silver wire and silver bead. San Juan worms in bright colors like hot pink and fire orange have also been producing fish. On the Norfork River, the low water on the White this week has eased the crowding a bit. Fishing has been good but not great. Midges rule. Norfork bead heads and zebra midges have been the go to flies. There have been blue wing olive hatches in the afternoon that have created some very nice top water action. The flies are pretty small, size eighteen or twenty. To fish something this small you will need to work it fairly close. If you can’t see it, you can’t fish it. Dry Run Creek is fishing well. There are a large number of big brown trout that have moved into the creek. Egg patterns are the way to go. Also try sow bugs and olive woolly buggers. Be sure and carry the biggest net you can lay your hands on and carry a camera. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and he has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

My daughter went to school in Knoxville and over the years i spent a lot of time fishing the area. I would suggest the Little River Fly Shop in Townsend, Tennessee as a base of operations. My favorite spots were Metcalf Bottoms, The West Prong and Abrams Creek. If you are willing to hike over one hundred yards you will have it to your self. The dry fly is king.Elk hair caddis and royal wulffs rule. Take some small hoppers. Good luck. I like this area so much that my wife and I were married at a small chapel in Townsend and we fished Metcalf Bottoms on our honeymoon!

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 10/25/2007 There has been a good bit rain in the twin lakes area and overall the lake levels fallen slightly. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has risen one tenth of a foot to rest at four feet below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen five tenths of a foot to three and six tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen one tenth of a foot to rest at five and four tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation around the clock. There have been a lot of very windy days that included lake wind advisories which resulted in several very difficult days for drift fishing. There have been few wading opportunities on the White River. Norfork Lake has remained steady at five and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern has been for a couple of brief periods of low generation in the evening and early morning. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have dropped lower. The dissolved oxygen level was around four tenths parts per million. There was two instances where it dropped below two tenths of a part per million. On the White River the dissolved oxygen has also declined. It has averaged two and two tenths parts per million most of the time but did drop to one and eight tenths parts per million on one occasion. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. On the White River the fishing has been a bit spotty during the last week. There were some really good days and some very poor days. The wind for the last week has been particularly strong and has been an issue for all fly fishers. Larger rods in five and six weight have been the rule. The upper river from Bull Shoals Dam to White Hole has been on average a bit slow. On the lower flows zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver bead and in brown with copper wire and copper bead have been effective. On heavier flows San Juan worms in bright colors and egg patterns have been the ticket. The catch and release section at Rim Shoals has been fishing a bit better. There has been some really good drift fishing in the Jenkins Creek area. On lower water olive woolly buggers and zebra midges have been accounting for a lot of good fish. On higher water San Juan worms in magenta have been very effective. These flies have also produced well down stream at the end of the catch and release area just below the power lines. Further down stream the section around the Ranchette and on down to Buffalo Shoals has been fishing very well. This section has not received as much pressure of late and there are quite a few fish there. Zebra midges and San Juan worms in bright colors have been the go to flies. Buffalo Shoals has fished particularly well. The Norfork has been fishing well of late. With the White River running around the clock, the only reliable wading has been on the Norfork. As a result, the Norfork has been incredibly crowded. The overcrowding has been made worse by the closure of McClellan’s. The Handicap Access has been so crowded that all parking spaces are taken and several people are parking in the road. I should point out that this road is clearly marked no parking and these cars are subject to getting towed away. That said, the Norfork is fishing well in spite of the pressure. The hot flies have been Norfork bead heads in black and olive, Wilson’s trout crack, and peach eggs. Dry run Creek has been fishing very well as usual. A large number of brown trout have moved up into the creek. The browns tend to be in the lower section. Remember that this is Catch and Release water and bait fishing is illegal. You must fish single hook artificial lures. The best way to fish it is by high sticking sow bug through deep fast water. San Juan worms, egg patterns, and woolly buggers are also effective. Gently release the trout as quickly as possible. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas. He has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

The dirty water was the result of not generating for three days and then kicking on two full units. I was out in it all day. It was tough and we also had pretty heavy wind to contend with. We still caught some nice fish but we had to work for them. The hot fly was a magenta worm. Go figure.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 10/18/2007 There has been a little rain in the twin lakes area and overall the lake levels continue to fall. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has fallen seven tenths of a foot to rest at four and one tenth of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to three and one tenth of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at five and three tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation around the clock early in the week. Then mid week we got some low water making for excellent wading. Norfork Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at five and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern has been for a couple of brief periods of low generation in the evening and early morning and a period of substantial generation in the afternoon. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have remained low. The dissolved oxygen level was around six tenths parts per million. There was one instance where it dropped below four tenths of a part per million. On the White River the dissolved oxygen has declined slightly. It has averaged two and six tenths parts per million most of the time but did drop to two and three tenths parts per million on one occasion. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. The fishing on the White has been a bit slow during the last week particularly on the upper river. The section from the Catch and Release area at the base of Bull Shoals Dam to White Hole has yielded a few good fish. The trout have been finicky and it is has been necessary to change flies often. Be sure and try San Juan worms, zebra midges in brown with copper wire and copper bead, and black with silver wire and silver bead. On the top try big foam hoppers, Chernobyl ants, and small midge emergers in black or peacock. Further down stream Wildcat Shoals has been fishing poorly. This section has received a lot of pressure during the last few weeks and a lot of trout have been harvested. The section from Cotter to Rim has fished a bit better. This section has also seen a lot of pressure and significant harvest. The trout here have also been finicky. Productive flies have included the brown and the black zebra midges, sow bugs, partridge and orange soft hackles, olive woolly buggers and the Y2K. The river below Buffalo Shoals has fished better. There has been significantly less pressure here. The Norfork has fished a bit better but the pressure has been unrelenting. There have been an inordinate number of anglers on the river from Norfork Dam to the confluence with the White. With limited wading on the White River everyone has headed here. It has not been the quality fly fishing experience that it has been in the past. Dry Run Creek has been the exception and has fished incredibly well during the past week. There are a large number of brown trout that have moved up into the creek to spawn and there have been a large number of large fish caught. The hot technique during the past week has been to fish an olive woolly bugger below a strike indicator. Be sure and use at least 4X tippet. With the heavy tippet and larger hook of the Woolly bugger it is easier to handle the larger fish here. By fishing the fly under an indicator you can work a very short line and stay out of the trees. Most big fish are lost at the net. Be sure and carry the biggest one that you can lay your hands on. Other good flies for Dry Run Creek are sow bugs (the dominant food source in the creek), egg patterns, and San Juan worms. Be sure and mash down your barbs and handle the fish very gently. Carefully revive the trout before releasing them. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas. He has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

Lori is teaching another Ladies Fly Fishing School LADIES FLY FISHING SCHOOL Geared Toward Beginner or Novice Anglers Designed to gain confidence on the stream SUBJECTS COVERED INCLUDE: • EQUIPMENT NEEDS AND SELECTION • CASTING • TYING BASIC KNOTS • ENTOMOLOGY AND FLY SELECTION • RIGGING FOR SUCCESS • STREAM STRATEGIES • READING WATER AND WATER SAFETY CLASS DATES: November 3rd and 4th, 2007 Saturday -CLASS FROM 9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM & STREAM SIDE INSTRUCTION ON Sunday - FROM 9:00 TO NOON WEEKEND PACKAGE INCLUDES: • LODGING AT RIVER RIDGE INN~ upscale riverfront lodging on the beautiful and serine Norfork river • CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST BOTH MORNINGS • LUNCH ON SATURDAY & SUNDAY • TWELVE HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION BY A LICENSED (AR) AND EXPERIENCED FEMALE GUIDE • ALL EQUIPMENT PROVIDED PACKAGE PRICE: $325.00 To make reservations, contact Liz Smith, River Ridge Inn (870) 499-7775 or 888-754-1542~ www.riverridgeinn.com Instruction provided by Lori Sloas, Berry Brothers Guide Service, (870) 435-2169~ www.berrybrothersguides.com

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 10/11/2007 There has been a little rain in the twin lakes area and overall the lake levels have fallen. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has fallen one and one tenth of a foot to rest at three and four tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has risen three tenths of a foot to two and nine tenths feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has remained fallen four tenths of a foot to rest at five and one tenth of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation in the morning and then to spike it with a bit more water in the afternoon and early evening, when there is peak demand for electricity. This has severely limited wading on the White. Norfork Lake has fallen four tenths of a foot to rest at five and two tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern has been for no generation in the morning and limited generation in the afternoon. There have been substantial periods of no generation with excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have dropped significantly. This is most critical during periods of no generation. The dissolved oxygen level was around six tenths parts per million. There was one instance where it dropped below four tenths of a part per million. On the White River the dissolved oxygen has declined slightly. It has averaged three parts per million most of the time but did drop to two and six tenths parts per million on one occasion. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. The fishing on the White while good was not excellent like the previous week. The lack of wading limited the number of fly fishers on the river. Those anglers fishing from a boat did well. The Bull Shoals Dam area fished well in the morning on low water but not as well in the high water in the afternoon. The hot nymphs were black zebra midges with silver wire and silver beads and red San Juan worms. Terrestrials such as grass hoppers and Chernobyl ants have been very productive. Be sure and use 4X tippet and pretty stiff rods to fish these flies. The takes can be vicious. Wildcat Shoals has also fished well. Zebra midges and San Juan worms have been the hot flies there. Rim Shoals has fished particularly well. On the lower flows small zebra midges black with silver wire and silver bead and brown with copper wire and copper bead in size eighteen have done well. Olive scuds and gray sow bugs in size sixteen and eighteen have also been productive. Dry flies have also done well. Dave’s hoppers in size ten and yellow stimulators in size ten have accounted for some fine fish. On the higher flows, San Juan worms in hot pink, fire orange and blood red all in size eight have produced fish. The Norfork was very crowded because it had the only wadable water during conclave. Despite the pressure, the fishing has been surprisingly good. I recommend avoiding the area directly below Norfork Dam because of the low dissolved oxygen. The handicap access has been fishing well. It is best to wade up stream. That way, if they begin generating you can walk out with the rising water not against it. Hot flies have been the Norfork bead head in black, olive, and amber size twenty. Small bead head olive woolly buggers have also been effective. Dry Run Creek has been fishing extremely well. During conclave a number of trophy trout were landed at the youth conclave. The most effective technique is to work a very short line and dead drift sowbugs. Make sure that you use heavy tippet so that the kids have a chance to land the trout they hook. A shorter rod is a plus here as there is quite a bit of tree cover and little room to cast. Also try red San Juan Worms and egg patterns in various colors. Do not forget to carry the biggest net you can lay your hands on and a camera. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas. He has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

Zach, I was at the awards banquet and heard your name called twice. Congradulations!

I have an old superfine tight loop which is a four piece four weight. I bought it for backpacking in the Smokies and it is the perfect rod for that. We took it to Montana a few years back and Lori landed a spectacular twenty five inch native Yellowstone Cutt at Buffalo Ford using it.

Had a great conclave. My brother, Dan, tied Dan's Turkey Tail Emergers at the tying table across from my booth. My Dad was in town visiting and was able to meet Terry. Met a whole bunch of great people and was finally able to match some names with faces. We went to Fred's on Saturday night for our catfish fix. I look forward to next year!

Lori and I enjoyed meeting both of you. Lori is guiding a couple of boys on Dry Run today while I am relagated to the White. Life is good!

Well, I am very glad the fly is working. Remember Double Your Money Back!

I want to personally thank everyone that stopped by at Conclave to say hello. It was nice to finally put some faces with the names. I enjoyed meeting everyone of you. For quite a while we have been corresponding but never met. It ws great to put it all together. I had a blast!

Dano, The problem is if I take my bass box, what about the bream boxes and smallmouth boxes. Wait, I'll take my salt water stuff too!

Zach, I was on the Norfork a month ago and watched a large Rainbow chase a frog across the water. It took several hops before the bow nailed him. I think that under the right conditions something like a popper or a Whitlock near nuff frog would work. In fact, on that day I wished that I had my bass fly box with me. Crayfish patterns will also work.

SPECIAL CONCLAVE FISHING REPORT BY JOHN BERRY There has been a little rain in the twin lakes area and overall the lake levels have changed very little. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has risen three tenths of a foot to rest at two and three tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has dropped two tenths of a foot to three and two tenths feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has remained steady at four and seven tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for no generation or low levels of generation in the morning and then to spike it with a bit more water in the afternoon and early evening, when there is peak demand for electricity. This has created some limited but excellent wading on the White. Norfork Lake has fallen eight tenths of a foot to rest at four and eight tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern has remained fairly erratic. There have been periods of no generation with excellent wading conditions on some days. With no predictable pattern, I would recommend that you check conditions before wading and carefully monitor the water level when fishing. The forecast is for warm weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have some low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have remained low. This is most critical during periods of no generation. Last week, the dissolved oxygen level hovered around one and two tenths parts per million. There was one instance where it dropped below six tenths of a part per million. On the White River the dissolved oxygen has remained steady. It has averaged three and a half parts per million most of the time. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. Anglers visiting from other states to attend the Federation of Fly Fishers Southern Council Conclave should be aware that the White and Norfork Rivers are infected with the invasive alga, Didymo. They should carefully clean their waders before returning to their home waters to prevent spreading the didymo. The Federation of Fly Fishers recommends that you remove any visible alga at the stream. Your waders should be washed in hot water and then be carefully dried (especially the felt soles) before being used again. Fishing on the White River this past week has been Red Hot! The fishing on the upper river from Bull Shoals Dam to White Hole has been particularly good. There have been reports of some really great days and some very nice browns. The hot flies have been small midge patterns and San Juan worms. There is still some excellent top water action on large terrestrials especially grasshoppers and ants. Wildcat Shoals has been another hot spot. While the small zebra midges have worked well, soft hackles like the partridge and orange and green butt have worked well. Here again the grasshoppers and ants have been productive. Rim Shoals has also been fishing particularly well. The same flies effective else where will also work here. As the waters become more crowded this week with visitors from Conclave, this is a good place to go because there is quite a bit of water. To escape the crowds, take the trail that follows the river down stream. It begins at the walk in access and goes for some distance providing easy access and exit from some very productive water. As I mentioned last week, Gary Flipin at Rim Shoals Trout Dock also runs a water taxi that will deliver you to remote water for a small fee. The Norfork has also been red hot this past week. Here the black zebra midges, black Norfork bead heads, San Juan worms, and olive woolly buggers have been the most productive flies. There is very limited access to the Norfork and it gets crowded quickly. Several anglers have been walking up to McClellan’s. This area has been fishing well, but since it closed in January the only way to reach it has been to wade or float in. With the erratic pattern of generation, I consider wading in very dangerous. It would be much safer to float in from the dam by canoe, kayak, river boat, or personal watercraft. Dry Run Creek is always a hot spot. If you have not been there you need to visit just to see the huge fish. It is Catch and Release that was set aside for kids and the handicapped. The most effective way to fish it is by high sticking sowbugs and San Juan worms. Egg patterns are also effective this time of year. Take the biggest net you can find and a camera. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas. He has been fishing the local streams for over twenty five years.

Bill, The fishing here has been red hot for the past week. You need to come up here and catch some of these trout. They are in good shape and fighting well. I hope to see you soon.